1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of processing a job in a data processing system including an image processing apparatus configured to perform job information processing requested by a thin-client machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as high performance personal computers (PCs) have been widely used in corporations, operation costs and management costs for installing and upgrading application software and maintaining hardware have increased.
In this regard, a concept of “thin client” has been introduced. In this concept, an inexpensive personal computer (PC) having minimum functions such as displaying and inputting is provided for use by a rank-and-file employee. Using thin-client machines, resources such as application software are centrally managed by a server, and thus operation and management costs can be reduced.
Considering reduction of operation and management costs for PCs and management of information on a client PC, a “server-based computing” system, in which thin-client machines are used as PCs used by each user and a server centrally manages data, application software, and so on, attracts much attention.
In the server-based computing system, applications, which are conventionally installed on a client PC, are all installed on a server (application server).
A thin-client machine sends only contents of operations made via a mouse or a keyboard to the server and receives, from the server, only data to be displayed on the screen of the thin-client machine according to the operation of the mouse or the keyboard.
Accordingly, the amount of data sent and received between a client PC and the server can be significantly reduced. Thus, response between a client PC and the server can be faster. That is, no application software operates on a client PC. Accordingly, the response between a client PC and the server does not become slow even when a relatively low performance client PC is used or when the state of communication is somewhat bad.
Furthermore, because all application software is installed on the server, application software can be upgraded by upgrading on the server only. Moreover, all the operations by a client PC are made via the server. Accordingly, the server can perform management as to who has handled which document or image. Thus, leakage of confidential information can be more efficiently reduced.
In this regard, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-284928 discusses a print system using a thin-client.
Meanwhile, as a multifunction peripheral having a copy function and an image transmission function has been widely used, any user can easily copy and send an original document.
A multifunction peripheral can improve a user's convenience. However, information leakage by copying and sending a confidential document is likely to occur.
In order to address such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-157569 discusses a method in which all read image data, printed image data, and sent image data is stored at the time of copying and sending thereof in addition to a job history (job log). With such a method, information as to who has performed what processing at which place and at what time in a system can be recorded. A function for storing and managing a history related to a job processed by an apparatus together with and linked to image data related thereto is hereinafter referred to as a “job archiving function”.
When the job archiving function is operated in a system including a thin client described above, it is required to provide the system with a large capacity storage device. Thus, costs of manufacture of the system adversely increases. That is, both a server apparatus that manages a thin client and a storage device that stores a job log using the job archiving function store image data related to a job. Accordingly, a large capacity storage device is required.
In addition, in order to manage all job histories in a system using the job archiving function, it is necessary to have all apparatuses that process a job in the system correspond to the job archiving function. That is, it is necessary to provide each apparatus with a function for storing in a storage device a result of processing or image data when a job is processed.